My belief in Dahlia as a character came from the fact that I, too, have enjoyed reading about liars in novels. They are some of my favorite characters, and lying is one of the more fascinating parts of the human condition.

When I'm playing, I think about someone like Pollack, and remind myself that I'm throwing sound at blank space until something emerges. I have to trust the process, so I can stay focused and not second guess myself.

This guy contacted me through an online dating site. His profile was well written, and he seemed to have his act together. He seemed normal. He was an attorney, new to town and looking to meet new people. He was 45 years old and nice looking according to his profile photo. All signs pointed to responding.

We need to be careful not to assume that individuals are guaranteed to repeat past behavior. Such assumptions can limit a person's ability to learn and grow. But, how can we know if an employee is going to repeat past behavior such as illicit drug use, theft, or bribery?

What would the world be like if we all became better at catching lies in the making? Would there be less lying all around? Maybe not, but there would likely be fewer victims if people could learn the signs and signals that they're in the process of being duped.

All the recent public talk about truth and deception got me thinking about the phenomenon of lying. I wish I could say that from this day on, I'll never tell a lie. But here's what gives me pause: the story of my departed grandfather.

At the heart of our ad-saturated democratic process is a moral paradox. Politicians raise and spend billions of dollars to convince us to trust them. But the fevered competition for votes virtually compels them to lie to us.

When a scam or disappointment occurs on something big, it painfully reminds us that blindly handing over responsibility for our own welfare to anyone is a dangerous and sometimes costly error of judgment.